I Am The One Who Blogs, Bitch

Well, it finally happened to me.  I started watching Breaking Bad and I can't stop.  I never ever want it to end, and I'm getting really depressed because I only have 5 more episodes left.  I want to watch them all right now, but somehow I'm finding the strength to pace myself.  I'm deep in the Bad, and things are so freaking complicated. Sorry to all you suckers who watched it in real time, cause me, Walt, Jesse and my husband have a real thing going on right now and there's no going back.

(A note to future me:  Ray - don't forget how much you loved that time when nothing else mattered and all you cared about was how Walt hugged Jesse.)

So where do I start?  How do you blog about something that has taken over how you look at the world around you?  Let's start with Jesse Pinkman.  I don't know how to feel about thinking of a meth smoking drug dealer attractive, but as long as we're being honest... He's a babe.  Look-

I really appreciate Jesse.  It's like he tries to do right, but he just can't catch a break and he constantly sabotages himself.  Everything he gets close to falls apart, dies or completely blows up in his face.  I feel a common bond with the whole Murphy's Law lot in life and being totally bummed about it, and it also doesn't hurt that he has the best catch phrases on the show, yo.  I love you Jesse Pinkman, wherever you are.

And Walt.  Heisenberg.  No matter what he does or who he kills or how much meth he makes, he is always going to be a loser science teacher and that helps me appreciate how hard he works to become the heffa.  

Look at him.  He really is pretty bad-ass.  I have no idea what is going to happen to him either, but so far he is going next level.  Watching him do what he has to do and grasp his second chance to build an empire is pretty awesome.  I'm not saying what he does is great, exactly, but guy is dying from cancer but he doesn't ever stop.  It this crazy reality check that he's gonna die, I'm gonna die, everyone is gonna die.  It's just a matter of what you do with the time you have left, and a reminder that everyone is dealing with desperation in one way or another.  The difference is how you face it.  Love you too, Walt.

The only other character I really love is Walt, Jr.  He's too presh.  I could go on and on about Skylar, Hank, Marie, Saul and everyone else, but the point is I am now addicted and this is all I want to talk about forever.  Breaking Bad is so multi-layered and complex that one blog post could never do it justice.  So going forward I plan on judging people solely on how they feel about Breaking Bad.  YEAH BITCH.

Harajuku L-O-V-E

So it's been a while since I updated this blog.  I went through a "thing" where everything I considered blogging about seemed stupid or uninteresting and why would anyone care about reading this mess, but lately I have realized that everything on the internet is kind of stupid and that's why we are all here.  So from here on out I will just be posting on about what I have been wasting my time googling and/or doing.  In the words of the late and great Joan "The Baddest Bitch" Rivers, "If you don't like it, go to another shop."  So here we go -

Lately I have been getting super into Japanese subcultures - particularly what goes on in the future town of Harajuku.  There are so many levels of crazy with this fashion world I don't even know where to start.  So lets start at the very beginning (I've heard it's a very good place to start lulz):

Harajuku is in Tokyo.  I've never been there but I am pretty confident in saying that Japan is in the future.  You know how time is just a human concept and does not exist in the grand scheme of things?  Like the idea that God created the world in 6 "days" but by our dumb human measurements that could have taken like, 1,000 years?  Well I'm thinking this concept applies to Japan.  It is on the other side of the world and they are 14 hours ahead of us.  WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING IN THAT 14 HOURS TO MAKE THIS JAPAN'S REALITY?!?!?!

 

So this is normal in this town.  This is all an option for how to get ready in the morning in Japan.   How old are these people?  Do you have jobs?  Is this acceptable "business casual" attire there?  I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS.  Whatever it is, I like it a lot.  I think it give a whole new meaning to the idea of "just rocking" your own individual style and look.  And it's not all clowns, homeless goth and hello kitty acid trip.  Apparently there are different categories of street style with specific looks, and they are all just as insane as you would imagine. You can find folks putting on their literal Sunday best and promenading around town.  This is the day of the week where you show everyone what you've got.  I'm not gonna do every single one because those waters run deep, but here are some choice selections:

#1 - COSPLAY

This is the easiest one - it's Costume Play.  This is when you just dress up like your favorite fantasy characters from comics or movies or games and then acting the part.  Here is USA we have kids who do that too and they can be found in your local high school cafeteria before and after school playing Magic the Gathering.  No judging.  Just reporting the facts.  Here are some choice jewels from this selection of style:

That last one was special and I had to include it.  I wonder if he's pretending to be Sailor Moon or Minnie Mouse.  Whatever it is, let's all try to get on his level.  But look at the other ones!  How long do you think it took them to put that together?  That's dedication. Way more than the kids we have here who just put on a cape and carry a foam covered battle sword their mom made them while probably crying to herself.


#2 - LOLITA
This one is a personal fave of mine.  It's a mixture of Victorian style and either overly-feminine, carnival-esque or goth tones.  It's super modest with everything from stockings to parasols to petticoats to covering head to toe.  It's like future Pride and Prejudice or something equally as bad A.  It's so over the top exaggerated and odd.  It's very baby-doll ish and I am having a very hard time figuring out where these girls are getting such elaborate clothing and how old they are.  Let's put it this way, I'm getting a real Jonbenet Ramsey feel off some of them. Too soon? Not sorry.

 

#3 - GANGURO

This one blows my mind apart.   This word is roughly translated as "black face" and is trying to simulate the western California girl look.  There is fake tan, white eyes with heavy liner, orange-dyed hair, and jewels and stickers and bangles OH MY.  It has it's own subculture called YAMANBA or "mountian hag" where they have basically brown faces.  I'm just gonna give you pics.  I don't know what to even say...

 

This is just a taste of what Harajuku has to offer you.  I highly recommend googling "VISUAL KEI" "GYARU" and "PUNK" Harajuku fashion for more visual delights.   If anything, this has all taught me that life is too short not to try new looks.  In it's honor, I have dyed a chunk of my hair purple and painted my nails black.  That's about as far as I have the guts to take it.